Growing up Manhattan
by Rae Kelly
Summary: REWRITTEN. The first in the Debt series. A little story about the events that shaped the lives of the newsies and brought them to Kloppman and the Duane Street Lodging House.
1. Rae

Author's Note: The original "Debt" series was written three years ago. I took it down for a rewrite, and I hope you all like it as much the second time around. Rewriting is much harder than I thought it would be, so please bear with me. I will get the chapters up as soon as I can. **

* * *

1882**

The door to the dilapidated building opened as the sun made it's way over the Manhattan sky. Boys of all sizes ran out the door, making quite a commotion.

"Who left the door open?" came a voice from inside the building.

The last two little boys who had come through the door looked at each other and scurried to hide behind a nearby crate.

An older man came to the door and looked down the alley. "Those fool boys," he muttered, starting to shut the door. He stopped when he heard a soft cry. Glancing down he saw a basket on the doorstep and knelt down. "What do we have here?" he asked, moving the blankets aside. "Well, now…" he said, lifting a baby from the basket. He turned and went inside, closing the door.

The two little boys looked at each other. "Think we're gonna keep it, Smudge?"

"I don't know, Chase. Let's go ask Cap," Smudge said, jumping to his feet and running down the street with his friend.

Cap looked up as his two littlest newsies came running into the distribution center.

"Can we keep it, Cap? Huh? Huh? Can we please keep it?" they both asked.

"Keep what?" Cap asked, looking down at the two seven-year olds.

"Kloppy found a baby," Chase said.

"Can we keep it please?" Smudge asked.

"A baby?" Cap asked. Chase and Smudge nodded eagerly. "Well, boys, that's up to Kloppy to decide."

"Let's go ask him, Smudge," Chase said.

The two turned to run back toward the lodging house, but Cap caught the back of their shirts. "Not so fast midgets."

They looked up at him over their shoulders.

"Do you two want to eat today?"

They both nodded.

"Do you want to have a bed to sleep in tonight?"

Again they nodded.

"Then you have work to do, don't you?"

Making faces the two boys slunk over to the window to get their papers.

* * *

"Can we go back now, Cap? Please?" Chase begged as it neared dark.

"How many papers do you have left, Chase?" Cap asked.

"Five," he whined.

"What about you Smudge?" Cap questioned the other little boy at his side.

"Three," Smudge answered.

"Then you better get the lead out of your pants and sell them, huh?"

Groaning they walked down the block attempting to sell the last of their papers. They came running back twenty minutes later empty handed.

"Can we go now Cap?" Smudge asked.

"Race you back," Cap said, running down the street, the two little boys close on his heels.

Cap let the two smaller newsie run into the lodging house first. "Where's the baby, Kloppy?" Chase asked.

"Sleeping," the old man, answered. "Like all babies do."

"Can we keep it, Kloppy?" asked Smudge.

"I'm thinking about it, Smudge. Now you and Chase go wash up for dinner."

The two boys ran from the room.

"What do you think, Cap?" Kloppy asked, handing the young teen a letter.

Cap scanned the note than had been left in the baby's basket. "I've been watching you for some time," he read. "I know you'll take good care of my daughter. Her name is Rae Kelly and she's six months old." He looked at the old man. "Are you gonna keep her?"

"I haven't decided yet…I want to think about it some more."

* * *

Unable to sleep, Cap slipped downstairs later that night. He walked over to the heating stove in the main room and sat on the floor next to the baby's basket. Kloppy had left the baby there to sleep, because it was the warmest place in the old building. Cap watched as the dancing flames cast shadows on the face of the sleeping baby.

"You and I have a lot in common, little baby," he whispered. "My momma didn't want me either. Only she didn't leave me here…she left me out on the streets to fend for myself."

The baby fussed a little and he reached over and gently rubbed her cheek. She quieted down almost as soon as he touched her.

He smiled. "I don't care what it takes, little baby. I'm gonna make sure that you never feel unloved. We'll be a family…just you and me." He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead, before slipping back upstairs to his bed.

Little did he know that Kloppy had been standing in the doorway to the kitchen listening to his little speech. The old man glanced up and smiled sadly. "You'd be proud of him, Emily," he whispered.

_

* * *

Timmy wandered the streets, selling papers by day and sleeping in doorways or on steam grates by night. As the weather grew colder, young Timmy developed a cough. He began loosing energy and sold less and less papers. His cough helped him sell his papers quicker, but because of his drained energy he could not sell more. Instead he chose to lie on the steam grate that he called home._

_One bitterly cold day he sold his last pape to an old man and his wife. As he walked past the couple they turned to watch the sick newsie. Each wanting to help the boy, but not sure how to approach the lad. He had only gone a few feet when he collapsed in the snow. The old man hurried to the boy's side and carefully lifted him from the ground. He and his wife hurried around the corner toward the building they called home. The sign on the corner of the street read: Duane Street._

_Little Timmy's fever raged for several days. His fever kept him unconscious. The old man and his wife took turns sitting by his bed._

_"How is the little boy this morning, Emily" the old man asked, coming into the room on the fourth morning._

_"His fever seems to have gone down, Marty. I wonder if his family is looking for him."_

_"If he has any family, I'm sure they are."_

_"We've been trying to figure out with this old building, Marty. Why don't we make it into a house for the newsboys that live on the streets? If this little boy doesn't have a family, then he can be our first boarder."_

_"That's a wonderful idea. But first, let's get this little boy well."_

_On the morning of the fifth day, Timmy's fever broke. He opened his eyes and saw the old couple smiling down at him. He tried to speak but began to cough violently. The old man helped him sit up and the old woman helped him drink some water. When he was finished he sank back onto the pillows._

_Emily smoothed his hair out of his face. "What is your name?"_

_"Timmy." He said weakly_

_"Do you have a family that would be worried about you?"_

_Timmy shook his head._

_"Well, you do now."_

* * *

Cap woke the next morning to the two youngest newsies shaking him.

"Are we keeping the baby Cap?" they both asked as soon as his eyes were open.

"Kloppy's gonna think about it…now go back to sleep!"

"But it's time to get up…Kloppy said for us to wake you up," Chase said.

Smudge nodded. "He said he weren't gonna yell at us from downstairs…'cause the baby is still sleepin'."

"I'm up! I'm up!" Cap groaned, rolling from his bed. He walked into the washroom to get ready for the day as Chase and Smudge followed him, chattering about the baby. Ten minutes later Cap made his way down the stairs, his two ever-present little shadows following close behind, still chattering. "How is she this morning, Kloppy?" he asked, bending over the baby's basket.

"She's doing good, as far as I can tell. She only woke once last night."

"Are we gonna keep her Kloppy?" Chase asked.

The old man smiled. "I'll let you know tonight when you get back from selling your papes."

The two little boys groaned.

Cap laughed softly. "Come on, you two…the sooner we get out there, the sooner we finish."

* * *

When the three boys returned that night the baby was in the front room crying. Cap walked over and gently picked her up. She quieted down instantly. "That's my girl," he said, sitting in the rocking chair. Chase and Smudge crowded around him.

Chase covered his face with his hands and then moved them. "Boo!" he said.

The baby looked at him and smiled.

Chase grinned. "She likes me."

Cap laughed. "I would say so."

Smudge reached over and she grasped his finger, quickly pulling it toward her mouth. Cap stopped her before she got the finger all the way to her mouth. "No, sweetie. That's gross." He looked at Smudge. "Your hands are filthy. Both of you go wash them, now."

The two boys tumbled from the room. Kloppman came in as they left. "Should we keep her Cap?"

Cap looked down at the baby. "I know what it's like to be abandoned…I can't really explain it, but I don't want her to have to feel what I felt…to go through what I went through…"

"I suppose we'll keep her then."

He looked up. "You mean it!"

Kloppman smiled and nodded. "I mean it."

**

* * *

1883**

It was the end of a long day of selling and Cap made his way back to the lodging house with Chase and Smudge. He was exhausted, but there was a slight bounce in his step. Rae was nearly a year old now and quite active. She usually kept them all entertained in the evenings before her bedtime. When they walked into the house, she was trying to climb up the stairs. "I'm right here, imp," Cap said, walking toward her. She turned and grinned at him, reaching up for him. Cap lifted her into his arms and she snuggled close to his chest. He kissed the top of her head. They had become a family these last six months. All of the boys loved and doted on Rae, but none of them made her face light up the way Cap did. When she was tired the only one she would allow to put her to bed was Cap. When the others got home before Cap, she would crawl over by the door and wait.

Scribbles walked over to them. "Brooklyn has a little girl…"

"What!"

"They let a little girl join."

"She have a brother in Brooklyn?"

"No."

"What do you know about her?"

"Phantom saw her one morning standing outside a toy store…she was still there when he walked by that night. So he took her in."

"Dunwoody let a girl stay?"

"You know that Phantom runs the Brooklyn lodging house."

"How old is she?"

"Seven. Same as Smudge."

"She got a name?"

"The Brookys call her China Doll."

Cap nodded. "Think she'll make it as a Brooky?"

"She may look like a doll…but she's tough."

"Good job, Scribbles."

"Thanks, Cap'n."

"Oh shut up…" Cap walked across the room and sat down at the poker table with Rae in his lap. She squirmed out of his lap and stood, hanging onto his leg. When he got his cards, she let go and clapped her little hands for just a second before falling. She looked up at him and grinned. Cap tossed his cards on the table. "Alright…who is teaching her to play poker?"

No one answered.


	2. Spot

Author's Note: These first few chapters may be kinda short while I introduce the story and the characters.

* * *

1885

"My spot..." the little boy yelled.

"MINE!" she screamed back, pushing him.

He pushed her in return.

Rae hit him with all her little might. She was being raised by the newsies and she was not about to let someone else take _her _selling spot. Soon the two were rolling on the ground fighting. A tall young man walked over a few moments later and pulled Rae to her feet, popping her hard on the bottom. "OOWW!" she yelled. "Cap..."

"I told you no more fighting with Liam!" the young man said firmly.

She pouted. "He start it..."

Cap turned to Liam and looked down at him. "Does your mother know that you're out here, little man?"

Liam didn't look at Cap or answer.

Cap sighed and knelt down, making Liam look at him. "You can't keep leaving your house without telling her. You are such a little spot of a thing that you could easily get lost..."

Liam lowered his eyes and nodded.

* * *

1890

Eight-year-old Rae rolled her eyes as she listened to Cap give her the same lecture he did every morning before she left to go sell papes with her best friend, Spot Conlon.

"Remember to stay with Spot and not wander off..."

"Cap..." she whined. "I'm not a baby."

"Do you want to sell papes?"

She nodded.

"Then stay with Spot."

"But..."

"What have I said about arguing with me?"

She bit her lip.

He kissed her forehead. "Go on."

She sighed and left the lodging house, having to run to catch up with the other newsies. When she got to the distribution center, Spot was sitting off by himself with his head down and his hat pulled down low over his eyes. She skipped over to him. "Morning, Spot. Ready to sell?"

He sniffled. "No."

She kicked at his foot. "Why not?"

"Leave me 'lone, Rae..."

"We gotta go sell, Spot..."

"I don't wanna."

"Why not? We got a good headline...another murder..."

"Go away...please..."

She knelt in front of him. "What's wrong with you?"

His eyes were vacant as he stared through her.

"Spot..."

"I snuck downstairs to get some water," he said, his voice cold and even. "Ma and Da were yelling. Ma was saying something about Dani's ma...she said that Dani's my sister...Da got mad...really mad..."

Rae sat listening. She wasn't sure what to say.

"He hit her...a lot...more than before...I was too scared to do anything...then Ma stopped moving..."

"Your ma was..."

He nodded.

She moved to sit next to him.

Smudge walked up to him. "You two coming?"

"In a little while," Rae answered.

"What's wrong, munchkins?"

She pointed at the headlines on Smudge's papers. "That was his ma..."

Smudge nodded. "Take him back to the lodging house. He looks like he could use some sleep." He turned and left to sell his papes.

"I don't want to go home, Rae," Spot whispered.

"Cap will let you stay with us."

"You sure?"

"He kept me didn't he?"


	3. Jack

1890

He ran through the dark streets as fast as he could. He could hear something pounding, but couldn't figure out if it was his heart or the footsteps of the man chasing him. He was gasping for breath and his legs felt like they were going to give out. He had to keep running. He just couldn't get caught and be taken back to that place. The boy turned into a dark alley and noticed a low window was open in one of the buildings. He climbed through the window and fell to the floor, landing with a loud thud.

A small figure sat up in the bed across the room. "Who's there?"

The clouds that had been covering the full moon as he ran suddenly disappeared, allowing some light into the room. A wiry girl, not much older than himself stood in front of him, wearing a faded, men's button-up shirt.

"Why are you in my room?" she demanded.

"I...I...I'm trying to hide..." he stuttered. "Don't call your folks..."

"I don't have any folks," she said, almost proudly. "I'm an orphan."

"Why aren't you in that orphan place?"

"Cause I live with Cap and the newsies..."

"Oh..."

"Who you hiding from?" she asked, walking over to the window.

"Sn...Sn...Snyder..." he stuttered.

She slammed the window shut and turned suddenly. "SNYDER!"

He nodded, "I escaped from the Refuge."

"You can hide here...but you have to be a newsie to stay here. What's your name?"

"Frankie..."

She snickered.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"My name is Kelly. Rae Kelly," she said proudly.

"That's lots better than Frankie..."

"What do you want your name to be?"

He was silent for a moment. "Jack."

She nodded. "You need a last name."

He scratched his head.

"Why don't you just use my last name..." she suggested.

"Jack Kelly..." he said, testing the name. "It's lots better than Frankie."

* * *

Jack went with Spot and Rae the next day to sell papes. "Dibs was teaching me to pick pockets last night..." Spot said arrogantly.

"He taught me that a long time ago..." Rae retorted.

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Prove it!"

"I will," she snapped, handing her papers to Jack. She walked in front of the two boys and bumped into a man. No one saw her stick her tiny hand into his pocket and pull it out again. She was about two feet away from him when he yelled at her. "RUN!" she yelled as she raced down the street. The two boys followed her through the city until she finally ducked through a door.

"Who was that?" Spot asked.

"Snyder," she answered, sitting on a short set of stairs.

Jack paled.

"Who is back here?" a voice asked.

Rae turned. "You're not gonna kick me out are you Medda?"

"Kelly-girl...What have you been?" the red-head asked, giving the girl a hug.

"The usual places, Medda."

"Who are your friends, sweetie?"

"This is Spot Conlon and Jack Kelly. He's borrowing my last name."

"It's very nice to meet you both."

"Medda, can we stay here til Snyder goes away?"

"Sure," Medda said with a smile. "Go to the kitchen and have Gracie fix you something to eat."

* * *

Cap walked into the lodging house with a sigh. "JACK!"

Jack crept slowly down the stairs. "What is it, Cap?"

"I saw you take that cowboy hat from the store."

"I didn't..." Jack trailed off when Cap gave him a look.

"Why Jack?"

Jack looked down. "I don't know..."

"You had to have a reason Jack!"

"I liked it..."

"So you stole it?"

Jack nodded.

"You know that with Kloppy gone to his brother's, I'm in charge, right?"

The boy nodded again.

"I can take you back to Snyder for stealing.

Jack sniffled and nodded once more.

Cap sighed. "I paid for that cowboy hat. You can do some chores around here to pay me back."

"Really?" Jack asked, looking up.

"Really, cowboy."


	4. Race

Kloppman looked down at the three little kids in his kitchen. Together the four of them had made dough for cookies and now the children were rolling the dough into little balls. "I have to go out to the desk and do some work. Come get me as soon as the dough is ready to go into the oven."

"Yes sir," they said in unison.

He turned and left the room.

Rae, Spot and Jack worked in silence for a few moments. Spot looked at Rae and smirked. "Mine look better than yours..."

"Spot..." Jack warned.

"They are!"

Rae glared at him.

"What?" Spot asked innocently looking at Rae. "They are."

She pushed him. "Shut your trap."

Spot shoved her back and made another ball. "Don't push me!"

Jack groaned and tried to grab Rae's collar. "Stop it."

She reached over and smashed one of the little balls of dough flat, her free hand trying to knock Jack's hand away.

Spot's jaw dropped as he watched her. "Meanie!" He grabbed a ball and smashed it in Rae's hair.

She shrieked and smeared a handful of dough in his face.

Jack made a dash towards the dough and let go of Rae on accident.

Spot wiped his face and glared at her. He made a grab at the dough but ended up with a bag of flour and poured it on Rae, white dust going everywhere.

Rae tackled Spot, knocking the bowl of dough off the table with a loud crash.

Jack jumped back and watched in horror, trying in failed efforts to pull the two apart.

Spot rolled over and climbed on top of Rae, smearing dough in her face. "ha!"

Rae scrambled out from under Spot and grabbed the dough on the table, tossing the dough balls at him.

"Throw your own!" he shouted walking over to her tray smashing them one by one

She grabbed a fistful of hair in her doughy hands and yanked with all her might.

"Oww!" He shouted grabbing at her hand. "Fight fair!" He continued as he yanked a ball of her hair with his fist.

Jack stared. "Stop! You two are ruining all the cookies!" He shouted trying to save the last few dough balls, popping one in his mouth

"STOP NOW!" Cap bellowed from the doorway.

Rae froze and looked at him, gulping. Both boys froze as well, Jack biting his lip and looking down.

Cap walked across the room and sat in one of the chairs at the table. He grabbed Rae and turned her over his knee, giving her three quick swats on the bottom. When he put her back on her feet, she stared at him, her eyes wide in shock. Cap stood and faced the boys, both of them stepping out of his reach. "We don't have money for the three of you to be wasting food like that. If I EVER catch you wasting food again, I will personally make sure that you will not be able to sit for a week." Three little faces stared up at him, utterly floored as he spoke and the force behind his words, their appearances causing him to sigh deeply. He would never intentionally hurt any of them, especially not the two boys. Both had been severely beaten in the past, and there was no way he would sacrifice their trust just because of some cookie dough, despite the cost involved. He shook his head. "Come into the main room and meet the new kid. He's your age. Then I want all three of you to come back in here and clean up this mess. None of you are gonna eat until this kitchen is clean."

Three very sober and filthy children followed him into the main room. A short Italian boy stood by the desk with to Kloppman.

Cap walked over and tapped the boy on the shoulder. "These dough covered creatures are the munchkins I was telling you about." Cap introduced the others to him.

The boy looked up at Cap, but said nothing.

"Boy got a name, Tim?" Kloppman asked.

"He hasn't said a word since I found him, Kloppy. I've been calling him Racetrack, since that's where I found him," Cap answered.

"That works," Kloppman replied, writing in the book on the desk.

"I'll take him upstairs and see if we can find something else that will fit him," Cap said, leading the boy upstairs.

The other three turned to go clean the kitchen.

* * *

Rae raced down the stairs in her nightshirt and jumped on Cap's lap. "I'm ready for bed."

He stood and carried her back up the stairs to her room. "We need to talk," he said, pulling the covers up to her shoulders.

"Bout what?"

"About what happened today in the kitchen." He sat next to her.

"It hurt when you hit me..."

"It was supposed to...and I spanked you, there is a difference."

"But why did I get spanked and not Jack and Spot?"

"Rae..." he said with a sigh.

She looked up at him, waiting for him to answer.

"You know that I love you just like you were my own little girl..."

"I am yours Cap..."

"I wish you were, you little imp. I love you like you were mine and I've tried to raise you just like I would my own daughter."

"But why did I get spanked? And what's the difference?"

"I've told you several times not to fight with the boys haven't I?"

She nodded.

"That's why you got spanked." He paused. "Hitting is done in anger. Spot's father used to hit him when he got mad, even though Spot didn't do anything. When someone disobeys over and over again, they need to be spanked to get their attention and correct them. Why did you hit Spot and Jack?"

"Cause I was mad," she whispered after a moment of silence.

"I'm not mad at you, just disappointed in you. I needed some way to get your attention since you wouldn't obey me, so I spanked you."

"It hurt..."

"I didn't spank you that hard..."

"It still hurt!"

Cap shook his head. "Good night, imp."

"Night," she said, snuggling under the covers.

He kissed her forehead and left the room.

* * *

"We should teach him about bets..." Spot said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jack replied.

"He's got to learn," Rae added.

"What should we bet on?" Spot asked.

Race looked on in interest.

"Roosters!" Rae exclaimed.

The three boys looked at her funny.

"Cockfights...two roosters are tossed in a pen and fight until one of them is dead. You bet on which one is gonna win."

"Sounds good to me," Spot said with a shrug.

"Come on," she said, grabbing Race's hand and pulling him down the street. "I know this place that has cockfights in the daytime. I can sneak us in."

Spot ran after them, grinning.

"That sounds wrong..." Jack said. When it was clear they weren't listening to him, he sighed and chased after them.

Once in the old warehouse, they pushed their way to the edge of the pen. "We can't bet with the men, but we can have our own bets." She pulled a penny out of her pocket and set it on the railing. "I'll take the bigger one."

"Me too," Spot said, adding his penny to hers.

Jack sighed deeply and put a penny with the other two. "I'm for the big one too."

Race looked at the two roosters. He pulled his thumb from his mouth and pointed to the smaller rooster. "That."

"The little one?"

Race nodded, putting his thumb back in his mouth.

* * *

"I can't believe that the little guy won," Spot said, glaring at the back of Race's head.

Race turned around and glared back at him, clutching the three pennies tightly in his fist.

Spot stalked past them, upset at having lost.

Cap was waiting in the doorway for them. "Where have you been?" he asked them.

"Cockfight," Race said around his thumb.

"A cock fight?"

"Better than me fighting, isn't it?" Rae asked, smiling innocently.

"I oughta..."

"What? Spank the chickens for hurting each other?"

"Smart ass..."

She grinned.

He shook his head. "Kloppy has dinner waiting, get in here and eat..."

* * *

The four little newsies sat in front of the fire, playing one winter evening. "Race needs a last name," Jack said. "We all got one."

"You don't," Rae countered. "You borrowed mine..."

"So..." Jack turned to Race. "You want a last name, don't you?"

Race nodded.

Kloppman had a cat that he kept around the place to catch mice. Spot sat nearby playing with one of the kittens, trying to ignore Race. He was still mad about the younger boy winning his money at the cockfight.

"We should pick a bunch of names and let him pick," Rae said.

Jack nodded. "Good idea...what names?"

"Higgins," Spot muttered.

"That's Irish, not Italian..." Rae retorted.

"You wanted last names..." Spot snapped.

She made a face at him and wrote Higgins on the scrap of paper next to the number one. "Cap...what's some Italian last names?"

He thought for a moment. "Moretti, Lombardi, Greco, Esposito, Marino...need anymore?"

"Nope," she said, scratching the names on the scrap of paper. She ran across the room to were the older boys were playing with some dice. She grabbed one and ran back to Race. "Each last name has a number. So roll this and that will be your last name.

He took the die from her and rolled it.

Rae looked at her piece of paper. "Higgins...Racetrack Higgins..."

Spot smirked to himself as he played quietly with the kitten.


	5. Blink

Author's Note: Much thanks to Stretch for helping me with this story.

"I wanna go home," 5-year-old Lyddie cried, tugging on Halle's hand.

"Stop, Lydia," Halle snapped.

Lydia just cried harder.

Halle sighed and knelt down in the snow. "What's wrong?"

"I cold...and s'eepy..."

"I know, little bit...but we have one more stop to make."

Lyddie rubbed her wet eyes with her gloves.

"Remember that boy that we helped last night? The one that hurt his eye?"

Lyddie nodded. "I like him. He was nice."

"We're going to tell a friend of mine about him. Tim has a place for the boy to stay."

"But we never help others like that..."

Halle smiled. "I know. We're going to help this one a little more. You are my helper right?"

Lyddie nodded, a grin on her face.

Halle took a deep breath. "You know how we pretend sometimes?"

Lyddie nodded again.

"Can you pretend like you're my little girl and I'm your momma?"

"Yes Halle."

Halle stood and lifted Lydia onto her hip. "Rest your head on my shoulder, sweetie." Lyddie did so as Halle continued down the street. As she approached the building where Tim worked, she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing. She had loved him and leaving him had been a hard decision. The hardest of her life. The opportunity that had been offered six years prior had been the chance of a lifetime. But to accept the offer, she had to tell him goodbye. She had dreamed of going to college, but there was no way that her family could afford it. Then the men had spoken to her at the cafe where she worked. They had been there many times before watching her work, like they had so many others. They worked for one of the most important men in the state and they needed her help. Their boss would pay for her college expenses, if she would work for him for five years after she finished. But she couldn't tell anyone.

They saw in her what many looked over, even sneered at, in the personality of a street rat- determination and resolve. The men acknowledged their inability to help everyone, to perfect the streets that seemed to crawl with increasing numbers of children raised in the gutter, however, she was one of the fair different few. Her needs they could give her, and, in return, she held the ability and characteristics likely to return the favor in the way many others had. She could help others the way she had been helped. Do onto others, as they say, a phrase repeated in her own mind as she gazed up at the large brick building. Inside worked the man she gave it up for. Tim had done well for himself in the time that she had been gone. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

"Can I help you ma'am?" a young man behind the desk asked.

"Yes. I need to speak to Tim Larkson," she answered, shifting Lyddie from one hip to the other. The girl had fallen asleep.

"One moment," he said, disappearing. He returned a moment later. "Down that hallway. Fourth door on the left."

"Thank you," she replied, heading down the hall. She knocked on the door to Tim's office.

"Enter."

She opened the door and stepped inside. "Hello Tim," she said, softly.

"Halle!" Tim said, standing quickly. "Come in...have a seat." He cleared the chair in his office of papers, which he tossed on his desk. "You look beautiful...as always." He had to stay polite. Not only because wanted to, but because he needed to for the sake of his broken heart that had taken years to piece back together again.

"Thank you," she whispered, sitting down and settling Lyddie on her lap, cradling the girl's head carefully.

Cap leaned against his desk. "She's adorable..." The little girl looked enough like Halle to be her daughter, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"Her name is Lydia...but we call her Lyddie."

"What can I do for you Halle? I'm sure you didn't came all the way to the Pinkerton Agency just to bring up old memories..."

"I found a little boy yesterday that I think you can help. He's a street child...and was injured in a fight yesterday. He's got a patch on one eye until it heals..."

"So you're the one."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've been hearing things from newsies all over the city. About an angel who always seems to show up when a street kid needs her. From the description, I thought it might be you."

"I'm not the only one, Tim."

"I knew that. It would be impossible for you to cover the whole area. Where can I find the boy?"

"He was in the alley behind Tibby's last night, sleeping on the steam grate."

"Why did you leave him in the alley?"

"He insisted, Tim. Downright stubborn...but you've dealt with stubborn children in the past."

He smirked. "Still have the little brat too."

"How is Rae? She's got to be getting so big now."

"She's almost ten...thinks she knows everything...is a little troublemaker..."

She smiled.

"Trent just laughs at her...I think it encourages her."

"Of course," she paused. "Tim, he's the other reason I'm here."

"Trent?"

"Yes."

"What about him?"

"I know a man who is willing to pay for medical school for Trent, if Trent will agree to come back to this area and work for ten years...doctoring the street children and those that can't afford to pay doctors."

"Is that why you left?"

"College...not medical school."

"Who would pay for something like that?"

"I can't say Tim."

He sighed and nodded.

Lyddie shifted and whimpered. "I should get her home," Halle said, standing.

"Can I see you again?" Cap said, opening the door.

"I don't think that would be a good idea..."

"You found someone else," he stated simply.

She nodded.

"Goodbye, Halle," he whispered, bending down and kissing her forehead. Despite the six years of wondering, despite the void created without her presence, in this moment and the ones to follow, he was happy for her and the opportunity given to her. If giving him up meant a life she deserved, then so be it, and he smiled as she made her exit, the tiny girl balanced gracefully on her hip, leaving him once more to his work and the child in the back alley of Tibby's.

* * *

Cap led the little boy into the lodging house and helped him sign in at the desk. He then turned to see the little newsies huddled in one of the corners. He cleared his throat. They all turned quickly, dropping the cards in their hands. "Playing poker?" he asked.

All four shook their heads.

"That's what I thought. We have a new guest. His name is Lewis, and I expect all of you to be helpful until his eye heals."

Rae grumbled something under her breath and the three boys gasped loudly, looking at her in shock.

Cap motioned Rae to him. She stood and slowly walked over to him. "What was that?"

"Why did you have to bring a blind bastard home?"

The little boy with the patch looked down and sniffled.

Cap grabbed her arm, looking angrily at the little girl and instructing, "Rae, apologize. Now."

"I'm sorry, Cap..." she whimpered. She bit her lip as she looked up at him. "Are you gonna spank me?"

"No..."

She smiled in relief.

"I have a better idea..." he said, dragging her toward the kitchen.

"What are you gonna do? Cap? Please let me go..." She was beginning to panic, having no idea what he had in store for her and, well, she was a little kid who'd just overstepped the line in a big way. However, her thoughts weren't on how badly she had transgressed, but, instead, how bad the consequences were bound to be, as she wiggled and squirmed, trying to get him to let go of her arm.

Jack, Spot, and Race looked between the newcomer and the spectacle at hand, deciding Cap and Rae were, currently, a bit more interesting than this eyepatched stranger. Unfortunately for Rae, Lewis decided that, whatever she got, he had the right to see. It was his ego she had hurt, anyway. So, there all four boys stood, watching curiously, albeit a bit dangerously, seeing as Cap would have seen him should he turn around.

"What's he gonna do?"

"He's grabbing the soap!"

"Why?"

"I can't see..."

"Shut up, runt."

"I'm not a runt..."

"Are too..."

"Are not!"

"Shh...he'll hear us."

"Not with the way she's screaming..."

They observed as Cap moved her toward the kitchen sink, Rae yelling up a storm for the sheer sake of either attempting to break glass or just keep her adoptive father/older brother from doing whatever he had it in his mind to do. Uncertainty was certainly not a friend of newsies, children, or anyone for that matter, and Rae was fighting tooth and nail to make sure she survived to see tomorrow. After all, her thought process was, as any child's would be, clouded by what she had done and the fact that she was being carried off by a livid parental figure, boys watching wide-eyed

"What's he doing?"

"He's washing her mouth out," Jack observed, witnessing the entire event clearly due to his height advantage over the rest.

"My ma did that to me once..."

"Ewww...I bet the soap tastes nasty."

"It sure does..." If they weren't so interested in the entire ordeal Rae was going through, they would have laughed at her flailing to ward off a simple bar of soap after going through worse in street fights with kids older than herself. Of course, this didn't mean they wouldn't keep the memory fresh in their minds to use at a later date. At the moment, though, they were simply preoccupied with her actions and Cap's old fashioned way of dealing with his foul-mouthed charge.

* * *

Rae poked Spot in the back with a stick. "Walk the plank you scurvy blige rat."

"You aren't playing fair, Rae," Spot protested.

"Am too!"

"Tell her, Lewis...pirates don't act like that."

Rae turned to the younger boy. "Pirate Blink...if you answer, you will walk the plank too."

Jack sat on the grass. "It's no fun playing with you, Rae."

She pushed him. "You're a fuddy-dud."

"Leave him alone, Rae," Spot said, dropping onto the grass next to Jack.

"I no wanna play no more," Race mumbled, sitting next to the older boys.

"Fine...I'll play with Blink," she snapped, turning and waving her stick sword at Blink.

He shook his head and dropped onto the grass as well.

She growled. "I hate all of you!" she yelled before storming away.

Spot looked at Lewis. "Didn't Doc say you didn't need that dumb patch no more?"

Lewis nodded.

"Then why you still wearing it?"

"Cause it sells papes...and if I don't wear it, I can't be Pirate Blink no more."

"You ain't a pirate...you're just a kid..."


	6. Mush

Author's Note: Stretch is amazing!

* * *

"If you weren't a girl, I'd soak ya." Spot said turning and glaring at Rae.

"Oh yeah" Rae said crossing her arms "If you weren't a girl, I'd soak you."

"Are you calling me a girl?" Spot asked.

"If the shoe fits." Rae said with a smirk

Spot lunged at Rae but she sidestepped him. "Snark told me how you ended up at the LH. If it hadn't been for Cap you would have ended up at the orphanage. And as soon as Cap leaves, Kloppy will probably take you there." Spot taunted. He regretted it as soon as he saw her face.

Rae tackled him and threw several punches, some of which she managed to land. Suddenly she found herself flat on her back looking up at Spot, who punched her. Just as he was about throw another punch someone pulled him away from her.

A cop had seen the two fighting and was now trying hard to hold them apart, by hanging on to the backs of their shirts. He bent down to get a closer look at Spot's face. "Aren't you Conlon's kid that ran away?"

The look on Spot's face turned from an angry one to one of terror. He kicked the cop in the shin and grabbed Rae's hand as he ran off. As the two of them ran, they heard the sound of a police whistle fill the air behind them

* * *

Race, Jack and Blink looked at each other nervously as Cap paced the front room of the LH. It was beginning to get dark and Rae and Spot had not yet made it back to the LH. Cap had a rule that the five little newsies had to be back at the LH before sun down, no matter how many papes they had left to sell.

Cap stopped pacing and turned toward the three boys sitting on the couch. Blink couldn't help but shudder as Cap's dark expression brought back some unpleasant memories.

"Where was the last time you saw them?" Cap asked harshly.

"When we got our papes this morning." Race answered.

"They left together like they always do." Jack added.

"Did they come back here for lunch?" Cap asked.

"No" Blink answered, his voice but a whisper.

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU COME AND GET ME?" Cap yelled. This both shocked and scared the three boys

"Cap lay off will ya? They probably didn't think anything of the other two not showing up for lunch." Snark interjected. His older brother had left shortly after Blink had come to the LH and since then Snark had become second in command.

"Snark..." Cap said.

"Yeah..." Snark answered.

"Shut up," he shot back, his mind a bit too far off to come back with a decent retort.

"Aye aye Cap'n" Snark said with a salute.

Cap sent a death glare in Snark's direction before continuing to pace. Snark looked at the three boys and motioned them upstairs. They sent him a thankful look before running up the stairs. Cap sighed and dropped heavily into a chair.

Moments later the front door creaked open and two little heads poked into the opening. Cap pretended to be dozing until they got into the middle of the room. "You two know the rules."

Both Rae and Spot squeaked in surprise. "We got lost," Spot answered quickly.

"It was your fault!" Rae argued.

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" Cap said. Spot hung his head, while Rae stared at Cap. Cap stood and pulled them both into his arms, hugging them tight. As soon as he could tell they had both relaxed a bit, he grabbed Spot's ear.

"Oww..." Spot whined, trying to pull free.

"I've warned you before Spot. I can't trust you to obey my rules, so you'll have to sell with one of the older newsies..."

"But Cap..."

"If you can prove to me that you can follow the rules, then I will let you and Rae sell together again."

"We promise!"

Cap drug him toward the stairs. "Get upstairs and go to bed."

Spot scampered up the stairs.

"Spot?"

He stopped and turned to look at Cap.

"You have to stay in your bunk all day tomorrow."

Spot started to protest, but stopped when Cap sent him a look. He sighed and slowed walked up to the bunkroom. Rae continued to watch Cap, not knowing what her punishment would be. Cap hugged her close again for several minutes, before he spun her around and gave her a firm swat on the bottom. She turned to look at him, eyes wide. He had spanked her before, but it never hurt that much.

"Same thing goes for you, little miss. If you do as I say and stay in your bed all day tomorrow, I will allow you and Spot to sell together."

She nodded, heading toward her room. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Will you come tuck me in?"

He walked over, picked her up and carried her up to her room. "Don't I always?"

She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Cap."

"I know."

"We did get lost..."

"That's why I didn't give you more than the one swat. It may not have been on purpose, but it was still disobedience. Do you understand?"

She yawned as he set her on her bed and pulled the quilt up around her shoulders. "I think so..." she whispered sleepily.

He kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, little imp."

She burrowed deeper under the quilt. "Night..."

* * *

Rae walked into the main room where Cap was reading the newspaper and crawled into his lap. "Cap?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Imp?" he replied.

"Can me and the boys go to Brooklyn to sell tomorrow?"

"Is there some special reason that you want to go to Brooklyn?"

She started to shake her head, but nodded instead.

"What is it, Imp?"

"Well...we was readin' the paper.and there is this play at the Brooklyn Theatre...and it's 'bout a kid...and we wanted to go see...we heard some rich kids talkin' 'bout it too."

"What's the name of this play?"

"Peck's Bad Boy."

He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...I read about that play.well.I guess it wouldn't hurt anything." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few dollars and tucked them into her pocket. "Have fun, Imp."

She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks Cap!"

He laughed and kissed her forehead. "Now go tell those boys that you convinced me to let you go."

* * *

Permission granted, having just gotten over punishment, and a few pennies for treats during the show, all five sat in the back of the house, leaning comfortably and watching the play progress. As scene gave way to scene, each newsie found himself, or, in Rae's case, herself, lost in the plot and the characters. Of course, it helped that they could relate to the boy on stage and the lines he spouted off.

"I can still lick any kid in town!" the boy on the stage yelled, causing the group to chuckle. Yep, they definitely could relate. However the problem with relating at the age of eight happened to also be a blurred line between reality and fiction. They weren't seeing an actor on stage, but a challenger.

Rae snickered at the boy's perceived challenge. "I'd like to see him try," she whispered to Spot.

"I bet he's a big scab," he whispered back.

"Rae could take him," Jack said, leaning over Rae's shoulder.

"I don't know. He's bigger than she is," Blink replied.

Race dug into his pockets. "I got...two bits that says she can."

"Save your money for papers, Race," Blink said wisely.

"What's his name?" Spot asked.

Rae glanced at the program that she had swiped. "George M. Cohen."

"I still think Rae can lick Georgie Boy," Jack said. "Let's give it a shot."

Rae's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Race ya," she said, running for the door, the others quickly following.

Once at the backstage door, Spot pulled Rae aside. He yanked off her cap. "Tuck your hair in your cap."

"Why?"

"So he'll think you're a boy," he replied.

She tucked her hair in the hat and walked over to the door and knocked.

A moment later a man come to the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"We'd like to see George M. Cohen," Rae said. Once the man went inside, Rae danced from one foot to the other, waiting impatiently for the boy to come outside. As soon as he stepped outside she threw a punch, knocking the boy down the stairs.

* * *

"I can't believe that you would do something so stupid!" Cap fumed, looking at the five children in front of him. "Not only is that Cohen boy hurt, but you hurt that other little boy as well. I just hope that the doctor can fix his arm."

Rae thought about the little boy in the other room. She hadn't meant for him to get hurt. None of them knew who he was, but he had stepped in and tried to break up the fight. When then cop passed by and saw them fighting, he had assumed that the boy was one of Cap's little newsies.

"Lewis..." Cap said, looking at Blink. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"Rae started it," he answered, not looking at Rae.

Rae kicked his foot. Cap grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "Go on..."

"That boy said that he could like any kid...and Rae thought she could beat him..."

Cap glared down at Rae and she gulped. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you later."

"But..." she protested.

"GO!"

She made a face, but went to her room.

He turned to looked at Spot. "You broke my trust once, Spot, and I gave you another chance. But you broke it again." Spot looked down. "I can't allow you to stay if you aren't going to follow the rules..."

The little boy looked up, his eyes wide. "Don't send me back to Da..."

"I wouldn't do that to you. Tomorrow morning you are going to Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn!"

Cap knelt down, looking Spot straight in the eyes, causing the small newsboy to shift uncomfortably. "You have what it takes to be a leader, Spot, but not with the way you've been acting. You don't take responsability and you need discipline. I love you kid, I do, but if it takes sending you to Brooklyn for a while to turn you around, then so be it."

"But, Cap..." Spot started, somewhere between upset and angry.

"No 'but's, Spot. Go upstairs, pack up, and we'll head over there first thing tomorrow."

"But..."

Go!" Cap shouted. Spot kicked the stairs before storming up them, leaving Cap to take care of the three remaining boys staring wide-eyed up at him.

"Cap," Jack started, figuring he should say something, anything, to prevent or postpone the inevitable.

"Stop. Don't apologize. What you five did is inexcusable, and as sorry as you may be, right now I don't have the patience to hear it. You hurt that boy for no reason other than to get rid of boredom, and you hurt another little boy in the process. From now on, none of you are selling together, and that doesn't change until I decide. Understand?" he scolded, his eyes boring a hole in each one of them.

All three boys nodded.

"And when you aren't selling, you can help Kloppman clean the house from top to bottom. When you aren't selling or cleaning, you are upstairs reading, or learning to read, or staring at the ceiling. All three of you are under restriction, and that means no racetracks, gambling, or hanging out outside the girl's orphanage. Didn't think I knew about that, did you?" he finished, arching an eyebrow at the boys before him. Without waiting for further protest, he continued, "Get upstairs."

He walked into the kitchen where the doctor had just set the little boy's arm. "Can you tell me what happened?"

He nodded as the doctor wrapped his arm. "I saw them all fighting that boy...so I decided to help him. I don't remember a whole lot after that..."

"What happened before then?" he asked, sitting gingerly beside the boy.

"I remember the girl...Rae?...hitting that boy and him falling down the stairs. She said something about winning two bits and then the kid she hit stood up and they started fighting. It didn't seem like a fair fight, you know, five against one, so I tried to stop them. That's when one of them pushed me into the crates. Don't know who though," he shrugged, then winced at the pressure it put on the arm currently being bandaged.

"You dirty snitch!" they heard Rae yell from the top of the stairs, Cap nearly growling.

"I said I'd deal with you later, Miss Rae," he called up to her before turning back to the boy before him. "You got a name?" he asked, a great deal more gently.

"Colin...Colin Meyers. Some people call me Mush, though..." he trailed off shyly.

"I'll soak ya so good your face will turn into mush!" Rae yelled down, irate that this stranger was digging her in deeper. She could do that just fine on her own, thank you! The last thing she needed was some pacifistic punk doing it for her.

"Rae! Now!" Cap shouted, at which point Rae stomped away.

"You sure she's a girl?" Mush asked, looking downright confused. "Girls don't act like that where I come from..."

"Where do you come from?" Cap asked, though unable to keep a slight smirk from his face.

"Nowhere, sir," he replied quietly, averting his eyes a bit.

Cap sighed. "Well...you can stay here until your arm heals. Longer if you wish."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now...I have to go deal with that little brat upstairs," he said, heading up the stairs. Rae was leaning against the wall in her room with her arms crossed, trying to look defiant. Cap knew better though, since she wouldn't look him in the eye. "An attitude like that will only get you in more trouble, young lady." He sighed and sat down in the old rocking chair. Looking down, Rae kept silent as she kicked at some imaginery rocks around her feet, trying not to listen as he continued. "I never would have thought you'd do such a thing. Does it mean anything to you that, not only did you pick a fight with someone for a bet, but that boy downstairs broke his arm trying to break you kids apart? I've never been ashamed of you Rae, and hope I never will be, but I've come closer than I ever would have liked today. Do you understand?"

"Not really."

Sighing, Cap tried to keep calm when his patience was on a losing battle with his nerves. "Rae, how many times have I told you not to fight?"

Shrugging, she fidgeted, finding it harder to drown out what he was saying and the upset tone in his voice.

"Rae, answer me, young lady. How many times have I told you not to fight?"

"A couple?"

"And, you still choose to disobey me? This time, you did it without any more than a bet to win two bits for beating up a kid you've never even met. On top of that, Mush now has a broken arm trying to do the right thing, something you should have been trying to do, something I have been trying to teach you. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I...I...I don't know..."

"All I tell you and everything I do for you is to keep you safe and happy, and you still choose to disobey me. Why?" he asked, figuring he was getting closer to breaking her.

"I wasn't thinking..."

"You never think, Rae. You need to learn to listen to me."

"I...I'm sorry, Cap."

"You're still gonna get spanked."

"But Cap..." she whined, lip trembling, nearly breaking his heart. Nearly.

"Rae, you broke the rules and, furthermore, you hurt a few innocent boys, boys you don't even know, in the process. Come here," he ordered, giving her a look that plainly stated he wasn't going to let her get away with it.

Moving slowly over to him, her eyes welled up in an attempt to get her off the hook as much as actual regret. "I'm really really sorry," she tried once more, hoping against hope it would work.

"I know you are, but I'm not changing my mind. Come here."

She whimpered as she took the last few steps toward him, sniffling a bit as he turned her over his knee and spanked her. A few swats here and there was all she had ever gotten from Cap, and all she had expected, really. However, as her sniffling turned into wailing, it became clear just how deeply she had disappointed him, and just how hard he was planning on driving the point home. Cap set her on her feet and stared at her for a moment before taking her into his arms and holding her close. She tried to squirm out of his arms, but he held her tight. "It's alright, Imp. Shhh," he told her soothingly, in an attempt to calm her enough so he could speak and be heard once more. She kept wiggling despite his words, but finally stopped and sobbed against his chest. Cap stroked her hair and rubbed her back until her sobs became sniffles and hiccups.

"Rae..."

"Hmm?" she sniffled.

"I love you, baby girl..."

She sniffled again. "I love you too."

He kissed her forehead.

"That spanking really hurt..."

"I know, but you really went too far this time, little one. I can't have you keep disobeying me. I love you and want to keep you safe, but that can't happen if you don't listen. Alright?"

She nodded, snuggling closer to him.

He stroked her hair. "Baby, I know this is going to upset you, but..."

"But what?" she sniffled.

He paused until she looked up at him. "I'm taking Spot to Brooklyn tomorrow."

"For how long?" she asked, confused as to why he felt the need to mention this to her, or what significance it had to warrant the saddened look on his face.

"A long time. It's up to him, really," he explained gently.

"Why!" she asked, nearly sobbing, bouncing on his lap as if that would extract some sort of clear answer, perhaps even undo what he had said.

"It's what's best for him, sweetheart. You two need to be separated for a little while, and he needs to learn to be more responsible. He's not going to learn that here, kiddo, and Brooklyn is his best bet. I promise he's going to be taken care of, and you two can visit after your restriction is over, but you two need to spend some time apart."

"But he's my bestest friend..."

"I know, honey. And he always will be. But this is what's best for both of you right now."

"I'm sorry, Cap! I'll be a good girl, I promise! You won't have to send him away, I'll be good! I won't fight no more and I'll even wear dresses...well...I'll be good, anyway! Please!" she finished, tears flowing once more, breaking Cap's heart.

"I'm sorry, Baby. Have I ever done anything to hurt you?"

"You spank me..." she cried into his chest.

"Have I ever done anything to not trust me?" he amended, figuring a difference between hurting deeply and punishing would have to wait until she was more rational.

"No..." she sniffled.

"Then, sweetheart, trust me now, alright? I know this is hard, and I'm sorry, but you need it. Both of you do."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed once more, her hot tears soaking through his shirt, her body shaking as Cap's own eyes started to well.

"I love you more than anything, Little Imp. You know that? Huh?" he asked, trying to reassure her.

"I know..." she whimpered after a while, nuzzling into him as she continued to cry softly.

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed, her little heart breaking. When she relaxed in his arms, he glanced down to find her asleep. He kissed her forehead and continued to rock her, needing to hold her for a little longer.

* * *

Spot slipped into Rae's room that night after everyone had gone to bed. "You awake?" he whispered.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Was Cap real mad?"

"Yeah."

"Did he spank you again?"

She sighed. "Yes. He said I shouldn't have started that fight with that Cohen kid."

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. Rae and Spot looked up to see Cap standing in the door. "Bed!"


	7. Brooklyn

Spot tossed his few belongings into a sack. "It's not fair Cap!"

Cap sat on his bunk. "I think it is."

"No it's not! No one else is going to Brooklyn!"

"Watch that tone of voice, young man..."

Spot started mumbling under his breath.

"This is exactly the thing I was talking about earlier, Spot. You have no respect for authorities, no discipline, and you don't take responsibility for you actions, Liam. If anyone can teach you those things, it would be Cork. How long you stay is up to you."

"Cork? He sounds like..."

"You smart off to him like you're smarting off to me, and he won't be nearly as lenient. I've tried to be patient with you, but you need to get back in line and if I can't be the one to do that, then maybe he can," Cap replied. He hated to think it, and dared not say it, but the boy's attitude was making it easier to let go...for now. He knew it would be hard later, and wouldn't let up for quite some time, especially with Rae wandering sadly through the lodging house, but this was necessary; if not for Spot, then for Rae.

"I won't stay..."

"You won't be allowed back here unless you stay in Brooklyn until I say you can return."

"Rae isn't gonna be happy," Spot said, trying another tactic.

"She's already been told and she cried herself to sleep. But she understands that this is the best thing for both of you."

Spot sighed in defeat. "How long do I have to stay in Brooklyn?"

"Until I can see that you have learned respect, discipline and responsibility." Cap sighed and looked at the little boy. "Liam...I love you, little man. Just like you were my own. But I can't let you keep going like this."

"Why me, though? Why not Rae, or Jack, or Race, or even Lewis? Why do I gotta be the one you give away?" he shouted in protest, kicking one of his bags on the floor before slumping down on one of the bunks. "Like hell you love me. Just like my Da loved me."

Cap knelt in front of him. "Have I ever once beat you?"

Spot shook his head, not looking at Cap. "There are worse things than beatings...You wouldn't give Rae up, and you always say she's like your own. Why would you give me up?" he asked, still confused, his lack of understanding aided by his anger

Cap sighed. "I'm not giving you up, Liam. You will always be welcome here. This is your home."

"Welcome when you call for me, you mean..." he muttered under his breath.

Cap stood. "If ever you needed a spanking it would be now..." he said. "It's no use trying to talk to you..."

Spot looked at Cap, his eyes full of uncertainty. He wasn't sure he wanted to tempt Cap.

Cap knelt back down in front of Spot. He tried hard to keep his voice even and calm. "Do you trust me, Spot?"

Looking down at his shoelaces for a long while, as if they held some answer to the many questions he had, he finally nodded. "I trust you," he replied, almost in a whisper. "Just...promise you'll visit?"

"I swear it," Cap said, looking the small boy straight in the eyes. "I'll bring Rae, too, alright?"

"Only when she behaves, right?"

"Right."

"Great. I'll never get to see her," Spot retorted, though a small smirk showed through despite his weary expression, causing Cap to laugh in return.

* * *

Peb Kelly looked at his new friend across the filthy washroom. "We gotta get this done, Spot...or Cork will kill us..."

"It's his mess too," Spot grumbled, leaning against the wall. He had no intention of cleaning up the pigsty that was supposed to be the washroom. "He should help."

Peb sighed and looked at Spot, who was older by at least a year. In the two weeks Spot had been in Brooklyn they had become close friends, for they were at least five years younger than any of the other Brooklyn newsies. "I've told you. Cork don't think twice about beating people..."

"He won't hit me. Cap wouldn't 'llow it," Spot stated matter-of-factly, sitting down and leaning against the back wall, closing his eyes. His sawyer-esque attitude was anyone's guess, though likely brought on by a lack of sleep and general homesickness. This wasn't where he belonged, and for a while had felt held against his will, waiting for Cap to bring him back amongst familiar faces. His wishing for Cap to come diminished slowly as his attitude of not taking orders from anyone took its place. This wasn't his home, but he'd be dammed if he wasn't going to make himself comfortable.

"Cap ain't here, Spot."

"You remind me of someone..." His speech became slower as he drifted toward sleep.

"Who?"

"Some girl I knew in Manhattan..."

Peb made a face. "A girl?"

Spot nodded. "You got a sister?"

"Nope. Just me..."

"Cousin maybe?"

"I don't think so."

Cork stormed into the washroom without warning. "Why ain't you two finished yet?" he growled.

Peb gulped. It was easy to see that Cork was already mad about something and it wouldn't be a good idea to anger him more. "We was talking..."

"Clean it yourself," Spot snapped.

Cork grabbed Spot's shirt and pulled the boy off his feet. "I told you that I don't like it when people question my orders."

* * *

Rae was sweeping the front steps of the lodging house when she noticed a familiar figure walking slowly down the street. Spot was coming toward her, his hands in his pockets and his head down. "SPOT!" she squealed, racing to her friend. She skidded to a stop and they both tumbled to the ground.

"Dang it, Rae! That hurt!" he yelled, pushing her away from him and scrambling to his feet.

"Brooklyn must be making you soft," she laughed, as she stood and brushed the hair from her face. She cursed under her breath upon seeing the bruises covering every inch she could see of him. "What happened to your face?"

"Leave me alone, Rae," he muttered, as he walked past her into the lodging house. He didn't want to explain to anyone but Cap.

She watched him walk away, her feelings hurt. They had always told each other everything, and now it seemed as if he didn't even want to see her. With a sniffle, she went back to sweeping the front steps. After a few minutes she crept inside to listen to the conversation between Spot and Cap.

"Please don't make me go back..." Spot practically begged.

"Tell me what happened, Spot." It was clear that Cap was loosing patience.

"He soaked me."

Cap sighed. "I can see that. What did you do to deserve the beating you got?"

"Nothing!"

"Cork may be a jerk, but he wouldn't soak someone unless they deserved it. What did you do?"

"I didn't do nothing, Cap!"

"I guess I'll just have to go ask Cork what it was that you did..."

"NO!" Spot yelled.

Cap crossed his arms and looked down at the little boy. "Then you tell me."

Spot's sigh sounded almost like a whimper. "Will I have to go back?"

Cap nodded.

"Why!"

"The reason you were sent to Brooklyn was to learn respect, discipline, and responsibility. You haven't learned those things yet."

"Should've known you wouldn't care..."

"Spot..." he started, feeling a little strained for a moment considering the slight pang in his heart from the harsh remark, "you have to trust me here, kid. I know it's hard right now, but it won't get better unless you let it. I'm really doing this for your own good, and I know it's hard to see that now, but you also have to know I would never do something to hurt you."

Spot sighed and kicked at the floor, refusing to meet Cap's gaze.

Gently pulling Spot to him, Cap put his hands on the boy's shoulders and looked him straight in his saddened blue eyes. "Trust me, little man. Can you do that? You have to be able to trust me and know that everything is going to be alright in order to even think about learning something new from Brooklyn and from Cork. He's not a bad guy, just a tough one, and I wouldn't put you with him if I didn't think you'd be in good hands. Now, you can stay here, eat lunch, and I can put something on your cuts, but you're going back to Brooklyn."

"I guess I can trust you, Cap..."

"Good," he said, ruffling Spot's hair. Cap turned to where he knew Rae was listening just around the corner. "Come on Rae...let's go get some lunch."


	8. Goodbyes

1893 

Cap sat in the old rocking chair in Rae's room watching her sleep as sunlight began to fill the room. He would be leaving this morning, but he didn't know how to tell her. He had tried to tell her for over a month now. Her little heart had broken when he had sent Spot to Brooklyn and he knew this would break it again. If he wasn't going to be working so much, he would have loved to take her with him. Going to the World's Fair in Chicago would be something she could remember her whole life. He wanted to take her and had even begged his boss to allow her to go along, promising that she wouldn't be any trouble. But permission had not been granted.

Rae crawled from her bed and walked over to him, crawling into his lap and closing her eyes again. Cap took the tattered quilt she had drug across the room and tucked it around her as he slowly rocked her, kissing her forehead. The times she allowed him to hold her now were few and far between. She was nearing her twelfth birthday and had decided that she was too old to be rocked or tucked in. He knew it was just because the boys teased her about it, but he had honored her wishes, choosing to slip in after she was asleep and kiss her forehead as he had always done at night.

"I don't want to get up..." she moaned, burying her face in his flannel shirt.

He ran his fingers through her sleep-tangled hair. "You don't have to, Imp."

She snuggled closer to him.

He sighed. "We need to talk, little one."

"Hmm..."

"I have to go to Chicago."

She opened one eye and looked up at him. "To the World's Fair?" The World's Fair in Chicago had been in the papers for months. She and the other little newsies had talked about how exciting it would be to be able to go and see all the things they had read about in the newspapers.

He nodded.

"When are we leaving?" she asked, sitting up suddenly.

He hesitated for a moment before answering. "You aren't going, baby."

"But you said..."

"I said that I was going, sweetie."

Tears filled her little eyes. "Why can't I go?" They had never been apart, even for a night. He couldn't leave her behind. She wouldn't let him.

He brushed the hair from her face, hating that he was breaking her little heart yet again. He loved her dearly and hated to be away from her, but this wasn't his choice. If he had his way he would take her with him. "I'm not going for pleasure. I have to go for work."

She pulled away from him. "I won't get in the way...and I'll be good. I promise!" she pleaded, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"My boss said you couldn't go, baby."

"Why!" she sobbed.

He hugged her close. "There is only room for immediate families where we'll be staying, and because you aren't mine I can't take you, sweetie."

"But you always say that I'm yours..." she argued.

"I love you just like you were my own daughter. But you aren't really mine. I only wish you were, baby." He wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Why can't I be yours?"

He paused a moment before answering, trying to come up with a way to explain it to her that she would understand. "Because I'm not really your daddy. I have to ask some important people for permission...and I have to fill out a lot of papers. It could take a long time before you could officially be mine."

"You just don't love me!" she sobbed, jumping from his lap and running from the room.

"Rae..." he stood and followed her to the door of the room. "Rae...come back..."

* * *

"Are you gonna drag me clear to Manhattan before you tell me what your problem is?" Spot demanded, pulling his arm away from Rae.

"He's leaving!" she exclaimed.

"Who's leaving, Rae?"

"Cap's leaving, dummy!"

"I'm not dumb." He sat down on a crate in the alley. "Sides, you should've know that he wouldn't stay in the lodging house forever. He needs to be out on his own for a while"

"But we're his family...you and me and Kloppy...he can't leave us."

Spot rolled his eyes. "Yes, he can, Rae...and he is." She may as well face the facts now. Promises weren't meant to be kept. They were just lies that adults told kids to make them do what they wanted them to do.

"I thought you would be on my side..."

"Oh grow up Rae!" Spot snapped at her. "Cap has a real job...and he probably found someone to make him forget about Halle. Did you really expect him to stay forever? People change, they grow up and move on. Get used to that now."

"How can you say that Spot? He took you in when your own father didn't want you. He raised you." She couldn't believe that he was acting like this. This wasn't her best friend, but just someone who looked like him.

Spot glared at her. "And then he sent me over here, Rae. If he really cared, he wouldn't have sent me away."

"He told me it was because you couldn't behave!" Rae retorted.

He stood quickly. "Figures that you would believe him over me."

"You were always getting me into trouble!"

"No, Rae! You were always getting into trouble and dragging me along with you."

"You were right there with me most of the time, and didn't try too hard to stop me...sometimes you even helped!"

"And look where it got me! I've been exiled to Brooklyn where I have to stay with Cork who is almost as bad as my old man." The two continued to argue for quite a while before Spot finally stood. "Just go away and leave me alone. You're nothing but a stupid orphan anyway..."

Rae stepped back as if she had been struck. "Cap would adopt me if it wasn't so hard. He loves me..."

He snorted. "And he's leaving you," he said, walking out of the alley.

Rae stared after him for a moment before racing back to Manhattan. She ran to Cap's office, but a man stopped her in the hallway. "Let me go!" she yelled, trying to get away from him.

"You aren't supposed to be in here, miss," he said.

"I need to see Cap!" she protested, tears pouring down her cheeks.

He held her firmly in place. "I don't know anyone named Cap."

She looked up at him, trying to remember Cap's real name. "His name is Tim, I think..."

"Tim Larkson?" the man asked her.

She nodded quickly. "He takes care of me."

He sighed. "I'm sorry honey, but his train leaves in five minutes."

She pulled away and ran blindly toward the train station. As fast as she ran, she was too late to say goodbye.


	9. Refuge

Thirteen-year-old Rae Kelly raced down Broadway not even bothering to apologize to the well-dressed people that she bumped into. She had to get back to the lodging house before the mail man got there. Cap had left in October to work at the World's Fair in Chicago and today was the first day of May, the day that the fairgrounds were to be open to the public. It had been six months and she had only gotten one or two letters from the man that had raised her.

When she turned the corner onto Duane Street she saw the mail man further down the street making his deliveries. She hurried into the lodging house where Kloppy was holding the small pile of letters. Without a word the old man handed them to her to look through.

With high hopes, she quickly tossed them aside one by one, eyes anxiously searching the envelopes for her name. With tears in her eyes, she bent down to pick up the fallen envelopes and gave them back to the lodging house owner.

Kloppman's heart broke at the sight of the tears in the eyes of the girl that he loved as his granddaughter. He was just about to pull her into a hug when someone knocked on the door. "Will you get that for me, sweetheart?" he asked, brushing the hair from her face.

Nodding, she walked to the door and opened it. "Can I help you?" she asked the man on the stoop. As she looked up at him she realized that this was the man that she had seen at the building where Cap worked. In his hands was a large box.

He smiled down at her. "You wouldn't happen to be Miss Rae Kelly would you?" he asked her.

She straightened up to her full height. "Yes I am," she answered, brushing away her tears. "Where's Cap?" she demanded.

"He's still at the fair, little miss," he said kindly. "But he asked that I bring you this package."

She nearly snatched the box out of his hands and barely remembered her manners long enough to mumble a quick 'thank you' before shutting the door in his face. She carried the box over to the front desk. "Look, Kloppy! He sent us a package from the fair!"

Kloppman opened the box for her. Inside was another box and a letter addressed to the older man. He opened the letter and smiled as he read it.

"What does it say?" she demanded.

"It says that you have to wait until the boys get here to open it. And that you have to share everything except what is in the envelope with your name on it. He said that's for your birthday which he is very sorry he missed," Kloppy answered, showing her the letter.

"I have to share?! But it came to me!"

Kloppman shook his head and smiled. "The rest of it is a present for all of you. That's why you have to share."

Rae stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips. "Those boys better hurry up, cause I'm not waiting on them much longer."

The older man laughed. "Go upstairs and put your things away and make your bed...maybe by the time you finish that they will be home."

Grabbing her hat and her messenger bag, she ran up the stairs to her room. She threw open the door and tossed her hat and bag on the floor just inside the room. She tossed the blanket across the bed, not even bothering to straighten the sheet that Kloppman insisted she use. Once finished she stood at the top of the stairs. "Are they here yet, Kloppy?" she yelled.

Shaking his head he walked over to the stairs. "Not yet, Rae. Why don't you go into the bunkroom and get all the dirty clothes off the floor?"

She put her hands on her hips. "The bunkroom smells even worse than the streets, Kloppy."

He laughed. "They are boys, Rae...just bring them down for me please."

Sighing dramatically, she went to do as she was told. "This is really, really gross," she told Kloppman as she carried the clothes down the stairs.

He kissed her forehead and took the clothes from her. "Thank you, honey."

She wrinkled her nose. "Are they here yet?"

At that moment the door opened and the four boys tumbled inside. "Yes, Rae, they are here now..."

Rae ran over to them and grabbed Jack's sleeve. "Come on, Cap sent us some presents but I had to wait for you to open it," she said, dragging him toward the desk. "Hurry up..." She didn't even wait until the others crowded around before tearing open the box. She tossed aside a large brown envelope with her name on it and began to dig through the rest of the box.

The first thing she pulled out was some caramel candies from the Lancaster Caramel Company. They each quickly took one and put them in their mouths, savoring them. It wasn't often that they got such a treat. Next was some chocolate candies from the same company. Race didn't even bother to finish the caramel before stuffing a chocolate in his mouth as well. Kloppman picked up a note that came with the candies. "Cap says that these were sent to all of you by a man from Pennsylvania named Milton Hersey."

The next item pulled from the box was several packages of chewing gum called 'Juicy Fruit'. Rae looked up at Kloppman. "It says Wrigley's Juicy Fruit...isn't Wrigley the guy that makes the soap and baking powder."

He nodded. "That's right. The note says that Mr. Wrigley sent the chewing gum for six very special little newsies..."

"Six?" Race asked and then counted the five newsies in the room. "There's only five here..."

Mush hit the back of his head. "Spot's number six, dummy."

Race rubbed his head. "Oww...and I ain't dumb!"

"Boys..." Kloppman snapped. "Let's see what else is in the box..."

Jack reached into the box. "Hey, look at these funny looking coins..." He showed them several flat coins. "What are those big words, Kloppy?"

The old man took one of the coins from him. "It says 'Columbian Exposition 1893'..."

"What's that mean?" Blink asked. "How did they make those?"

Kloppman looked once more at the note that Cap had included in the box. "There is a machine there that will smash coins flat and put those words on them. The Columbian Exposition is what they are calling the World's Fair...because it's been four hundred years since Columbus discovered America." He looked down at them. "Haven't you been reading those newspapers you sell?" When none of them would look him in the eye he sighed. "You kids take your coins and get out of here..."

After they left the room, Kloppman noticed the envelope with Rae's name on it. He picked it up and carried it behind the desk, dropping it in the box with her name on it. He had a box for each of the newsies where he put things he had found laying around the house.

-----

"Supreme Court declares the tomato to be a vegetable...What kind of headline is that?" Jack asked as the newsies looked through the papers trying to find a good headline.

Blink folded the paper he was looking through. "A week of really good headlines and all we get is this trash..."

Rae leaned against a nearby wall, her hat pulled low over her eyes. "The stock market crashed last week, Blink...it's old news now. No one wants to hear that the banks don't have any more money or that the factories will be closing and all that stuff. They're tired of it."

"But how are we supposed to sell this stuff?" asked the newest of the group, a boy with the unusual nickname Pie Eater. No one was quite sure how he ended up with that name.

"You have to make the headlines more interesting," Jack said, still looking through his paper.

"How do you do that?" asked another of the more than half a dozen newsies that had come in the months since Cap left.

It was Rae who answered. "You lie..."

"Cap wouldn't like that," Race told her.

She rolled her eyes. "The vendors on the street do it everyday, boys...they just...improve the truth a little."

Jack jumped to his feet. "I got it! This article on the last page says something about a funeral wagon overturning..."

"What's so good about that?" questioned Bumlets.

"Instead of saying that a funeral wagon lost its wheel and turned over...you say something like..." Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Corpse found in carriage..."

Race nodded. "So it's not really a lie..."

"That's right. We sell the papes...not the headlines..."

-----

Jack walked through the market, his papers at his side. The day's selling had been so bad that he had given up on trying. It had been nearly a month since the crash of the stock market and things still weren't looking up. Sure every couple days they found a headline that they could improve a little, but for the most part the papers weren't selling. His meager savings were long gone. Kloppman was allowing them to stay for free at the lodging house, but the old man couldn't afford to feed them so they were forced to find food on their own. However they couldn't buy food if they couldn't sell their papers...and no one could afford to buy papers.

He stopped and stared longingly at the loaves of bread on a baker's cart. After a few minutes he noticed a small loaf of bread fall from the cart and roll underneath it. Jack crept closer to the cart, hoping that the baker wouldn't notice the missing loaf.

Casting glances at the baker, he slowly bent down to grab the loaf. Not quite able to reach it, he dropped his papers and stretched a little more, his fingers finally closing around the loaf. Just as he started to stand up a large hand clamped on his wrist.

-----

Rae was in the kitchen, nearly shoulder deep in water from the laundry tub. "Kloppy..." she whined. "Why do I have to help with the laundry? The boys are the ones who got it all dirty..."

Kloppman looked down at her. "I need your help, sweetie. I've never asked you to pay for your bed like the boys do, so do you think you can help me out just a little?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I guess..." she sighed.

He patted her back. "Cap would be proud of you for helping."

"He don't care," she snapped.

Kloppman sighed softly. "He loves you very much, sweetie."

Rae shook her head. "If he loved me he wouldn't have left me...he would've adopted me."

Before the old man could respond the door opened and Blink and Mush ran in. Blink bent over and put his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath.

"The bulls got Jack!" Mush exclaimed.

"Do you know where they took him?" the old man questioned.

It was Blink who answered. "The Refuge..."

Rae's eyes widened. "Snyder got him?"

Both boys nodded.

Kloppman sighed again. "I don't think I can get him out of the Refuge..."

"What are we gonna do, Kloppy?" Mush asked.

Blink nodded. "Yeah...he's our leader..."

"No he's not!" Rae snapped. "Cap's our leader!"

"But Cap's gone, Rae," Blink replied.

"He's coming back! And Jack's not the leader cause Cap never said he was!"

Mush bit his lip. "But Jack's the oldest..."

"That doesn't mean he's the leader!" Rae yelled, before storming from the room and slamming the door.

The two boys looked up at Kloppman. "Why is she acting like that, Kloppy?" Blink asked.

The old man sighed, staring at the door. "I'll let you boys in on a little secret...No one knows why girls act the way they do."

-----

Rae waited backstage at Irving Hall while Medda was on stage singing. When the singer walked off the stage, she knelt in front of Rae, brushing a strand of hair from the girl's face. "You've been crying." Rae could only nod. "Come upstairs with me, sweetie."

Rae followed Medda upstairs to her flat, which unlike the rest of the theatre was very plain and simple. She went to the small kitchen to put some water on for tea while Medda changed out of her costume and took off her stage makeup. Rae had the tea ready by the time Medda returned. "Medda?" Rae asked the older woman.

"Yes, angel?" she answered, settling herself into the large overstuffed chair and propping her feet up.

Rae brought the singer a cup of tea. "You're Cap's momma, right?"

Medda sighed softly. "Yes, I am."

"How come you gave him to Kloppy?" Rae asked, sitting on a low stool beside her.

Medda was silent for several minutes before answering. "When he was just a little boy I worked for a man who didn't like children. He wanted me to travel with him all over the country singing, but he wouldn't let me take my son. So instead of telling the man no...I left my son out on the streets to fend for himself."

"Did you love Cap?" Rae asked her, hugging her knees.

Medda nodded. "Yes, sweetie, I loved my son very much. I still do."

"He told me that he loves me...but I don't think he does..." Rae said, not looking at the older woman.

"What makes you think that?" she asked the girl.

Rae took a deep breath. "Cause he didn't adopt me...he said that there were too many papers to fill out and it would take too much time...and he left me."

"Oh sweetie," Medda said, brushing a loose strand of hair from Rae's face. "I know that he wants to adopt you...and he had to leave for work, but he'll come back for you."

Rae pushed her hand away. "He ain't coming back!"

Medda sighed. "Sometimes people leave for different reasons. I thought I was doing the right thing when I left my son, but I've regretted it every day. Cap didn't want to leave you, baby, but his job sent him away for a short time. He did every thing he could to take you with him."

Rae was quiet for a moment before looking up at the older woman. "Why did my real parents leave me?"

"No one knows, angel. Maybe they couldn't take care of you anymore, or they got sick...there could be a bunch of different reasons." Sighing softly, Rae leaned her head against Medda's knee. The older woman loosened Rae's braid and gently ran her fingers through the girl's hair. "I'm glad they did, baby girl. You've been good for Cap and Kloppman...and even me." 


	10. Changes

Rae was curled up in an old ratty chair in the main room of the lodging house with her nose buried in a book. How she could manage to read in the near deafening noise was beyond most of the boys, but they weren't about to quiet down for her. Not with the way that she had been acting lately. "Down right bitchy." was the way they described it when Kloppman wasn't around. The old man would have thrown a fit if he had heard the way they were talking about Rae.

Because of her attitude of late, most of her friends had been avoiding Rae. Not that it bothered her in the least. It seemed that all she could think about lately was Cap and the fact that he hadn't returned from Chicago, thus proving that he didn't love her as he had said. If he loved her, surely it wouldn't have taken him two years to come home, not when the World's Fair had been over for almost a year. She hadn't even heard a single word from him since he sent them all a package. Right now, most of them had their attention focused on the younger of two sisters who had followed Skittery home a week before...or, rather, ten-year-old Lorna had followed Skittery and six-year-old Fiona had followed her older sister. And, it was easy to see why Lorna had been trying to lose her sister. Fiona was prissy and demanding; when she didn't get her way she threw a fit until she did. Now she had all of the boys jumping to do her bidding, and if she wanted something, she got it. Lorna, on the other hand, seemed to find trouble even more than Rae had when she was younger.

Rae ignored the younger girl and, because of this, Lorna had become her shadow; at least, when she wasn't off looking for trouble. As long as Lorna didn't bother her, Rae didn't mind. Even though the girls wouldn't give their last name, Rae had managed to find out that there was a sister between the two girls and a much older brother they had never met. They all had the same father, but Lorna and her sisters had a different mother. Their father had never married her mother. According to Lorna he never paid any attention to them anyway. At this point Rae had told the girl that she talked too much. But that hadn't stopped Lorna from talking.

Rae looked up when she heard the front door open. There stood Jack Kelly, who had been in the Refuge for nearly a year. It appeared that she was the only one that heard the door open and noticed the newsie standing there. "Hello Jack," she said, and almost instantly the room grew quiet, except for Fiona's constant whining. The room was soon filled with noise again as the newsies crowded around the boy wearing a tattered old cowboy hat standing in the doorway, greeting him as they would a long lost relative. Only he hadn't been lost. He had gotten himself arrested. Their reaction to Jack's return frustrated Rae and she stormed upstairs to the room that had once belonged to just her but she now shared with Lorna and Fiona.

Why should he be treated so well? Weren't they mad? He left! Well, sure, involuntarily, but he was the one that pulled that stupid stunt, trying to get food and all that when he was just a little hungry, and they were giving him some hero's welcome! Yeah, some hero he was, getting caught taking a loaf of bread. He was sure to go down in history for that bit of courage.

She paced around the room in anger for several minutes before her curiosity got the better of her and she crept to the top of the stairs. She sat on the top step and gazed down into the main room. Jack stood in front of the fireplace with a captive audience sitting around him, listening as he told the story of his escape from the Refuge. Even prissy Fiona was sitting quiet; hanging on Jack's every word. Jack had always been a story teller, although most of his stories weren't true. Like the one he told about his parents being out west looking for a place to live. She had overheard him tell Cap that his mother was dead and his father was in prison.

The longer she sat at the top of the stairs the more unsettled she grew. She couldn't stay here in the only home she had ever known. It hadn't felt like home since Cap had left and it wouldn't feel like that again until he returned. But she knew now that he would never return. He had been gone long enough to prove that to her. The wonderful memories of her years growing up in this old building were slowly starting to drive her crazy. It wouldn't be long before she ended up out at Bellevue.

When Jack started saying something about the governor helping him escape from the Refuge, and it was then that Rae stood and went back to her room. She had to leave Manhattan first thing in the morning and knew exactly where she had to go. Brooklyn. That is...if Spot would let her stay.

* * *

Rae walked slowly toward the old house that the Brooklyn boys called home. She knew Spot would know that she was coming long before she made it down to the docks, but she didn't care. She and Spot hadn't spoken to each other in nearly two years. Not since the day that Cap left. It was probably better that he found out that she was coming before she showed up on his doorstep. In fact, she wasn't sure that she would be welcomed in Brooklyn.

Even though she hadn't spoken to her old friend, she had kept track of him through other newsies. Spot had risen to second-in-command in Brooklyn and had become quite respected from what she was told. He was quick to soak anyone who crossed him and there were rumors that he had killed one of the Brookys, as the Brooklyn boys tended to call themselves. Spot had also come up with an elaborate system of spies all over the city, making the Brooklyn newsies the best informed newsies in the city. It was often said that he knew things before the borough leader knew them.

When she got to the old house Spot was leaning against the porch railing. "What are you doing here, Kelly?" he demanded. He had known of her arrival within five minutes of her stepping off the Bridge.

"I...I need a place to stay, Spot..." she said, kicking at the dirt. She knew that he was expecting an apology, but she wasn't ready to give it to him. Not until he apologized.

"Why should I give you a place to live Rae? You haven't talked to me in two years. In fact, the last time we talked you insulted me," he told her plainly, his voice cold.

"If memory serves you called me a stupid orphan..." she snapped in reply.

"You needed to face the facts. Cap lied to us. He gave me away and he was leaving you behind. Tell me this...did he ever come back?" Without answering, she turned and walked away. He waited until she had turned the corner at the end of the block before following her. "Does Kloppy know that you are here?" he asked as he caught up to her.

She shook her head. "No. And I don't want him knowing where I am. Or any of the boys." He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "You have to tell me why, Rae, if you expect me to talk to Cork about you staying." She jerked her arm free. "Because Cap didn't come back...and the memories were starting to drive me crazy. I just want to forget." Rae blinked back the tears that filled her eyes. She wasn't going to break down in front of him.

"I'll talk to Cork, but he might say no. He's always been against girls staying at the house," Spot told her honestly.

"It's not him. It's the Children's Aid Society," she said, crossing her arms. "The only reason I got to stay at Duane Street was because Kloppy lied and told them I was his granddaughter."

He snorted. "Sounds like him. But what about the two little girls that I heard were there now?"

"Those two little brats are annoying...and it's only temporary, Kloppy said. 'Til they find their brother and sister. But he's not trying very hard to find them. You know, Kloppy," she replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, I do," he said with a nod, knowing full well the man would take in all of Manhattan and part of Brookyln too, given the chance. Shaking his head, he slung his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, let's go talk to Cork."

"Do you think he'll say yes?" she asked as she walked with him toward Cork's selling corner.

"He will...Since he doesn't want to take care of the sick little brat that I brought home."

"You brought home a kid? What's his name?" Rae laughed, unable to help herself. Spot? Take in a kid? Right.

Sending her a look and jamming his index finger into her ribcage, he retorted, "_Her_ name is Moira...she stole my wallet and she reminds me a lot of you."

"Why does that not surprise me?" She asked, slapping his hand. Their argument years before had been stupid. She knew it, but she had been too proud to apologize to him for it. They had both said things that they didn't mean and now it was all forgotten. They had been that way when they were little. They would argue, not speak to each other for a few hours and then all would be well again. This time they hadn't spoken to each other for two years.

When they got to where Cork was selling papers, she waited while Spot went to ask Cork's permission for her to stay. Though she couldn't hear their words, she knew they were arguing about her staying. At one point, Cork raised his hand and it looked as if he would strike her friend. She knew that it wouldn't be the first time he had done so. She remembered the way he looked the first time she saw him after Cap sent him to Brooklyn. His whole face had been covered in bruises.

Spot finally walked back over to her and grabbed her arm once more. "He said you could stay," he said gruffly as he led her back down the street.

She pulled her arm free. "You don't sound too happy about it." She wouldn't stay if he didn't want her to stay. She could always find somewhere else to live. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

"Don't worry about it," he growled.

"Spot..."

"Drop it, Rae!" he snapped, pulling her down the street again. He didn't want Cork to see him fighting with Rae. Not right after Cork had agreed to let her stay.

She glared at him briefly. "Fine...I guess I have to take care of that brat you mentioned..."

He nodded, raking his fingers through his hair, his nerves easing slightly. "Yeah, that's what he said. Trent said she should be well enough to start selling in a few days."

Her eyes narrowed. "Trent...that wouldn't happen to be the guy that used to go by Smudge when we were little, would it?" Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. If it was indeed the man that she had known her whole life, he wouldn't hesitate to tell Kloppy and the others where she was. Trent had been given the chance to attend medical school in exchange for serving the poor people of the city for ten years, but part of the deal had been not letting his old friends know where he was. However, he still managed to bring Kloppy some money once a month.

"As a matter of fact he is," he said with a slight laugh. "But don't worry, he won't tell Kloppy that you are here."

"He better not," she replied, walking toward the house. When he caught up with her again she asked. "You gonna tell me what Cork said to you?"

He shook his head. "Nope. That's between me and him." The look in his eye told her not to press the issue more...and for once she didn't.


End file.
